Is this the END?
by Bookworm.Fangirl.Fanvergent
Summary: It had been three months since Natsu and Happy had disappeared from their job and the whole Guild was in a state of worry and despair, but none felt it as deeply as Lucy Heartfilia. Then one day a sign appeared which set the balls of the apocalypse rolling.
1. A Blue Sign

_**Authors Note: Hiiiii there :3 This is my first fanfiction and I think it's fairly decent for a first effort XD Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it! I'll try and update ASAP ~ .Fanvergent**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own these fantabulous characters, they all belong to Hiro :3**_

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"Any sign of Natsu this morning, Mira?"

"I'm afraid there's still nothing to report Lucy"

Lucy nodded and gave Mira a strained smile, both of them knowing that it was covering up a broken heart. It had been the same question each morning for the past three months...and it always received the same answer, no. Usually it would be normal to go out on a mission and spend a few weeks on it, depending on its content and difficulty, but not the one Natsu and Happy had volunteered to take.

It should've taken maybe a week, definitely not months. No messages had been received from either of them and when Erza, Gray, Wendy and Lucy went to check up on him, the customer said that they'd left three days after they had arrived having completed the job in record time.

Returning to the Guild they had consulted the Master and search parties were sent out, even the other Guilds lent help but not one had turned up with any clues of their whereabouts. Erza and Gray had become quite close over the time Natsu had been missing, leaving together in the early hours of the morning to cover more ground and returning late at night. Of course, Juvia was stalking them in case Erza made a move on "her" Gray. Numerous times Lucy had listened to the blue haired girls ranting and boisterous accusations and she'd tried her best to help calm her down, she really had, but often her mind wandered away to her own problems.

The old Guild door creaked on its unoiled hinges as she pulled it open with a gloved hand. A flurry of snowflakes tumbled into the Guild and smacked into her face where they melted under the heat of her cheeks and slid down to her chin, tracing the same line her tears had tracked the previous night. The snow was nearly up to her knees, making any sort of travel by foot difficult but lost in her own thoughts, Lucy didn't care that her toes were slowly going numb and her jeans were getting soaked. All her thoughts were focuses on the missing flame head. There was no space for any other information.

The small cottage still stood silent against the dark forest green and white of the coniferous trees. It looked inhabited with its closed curtains, dead flowers, missing roof tiles, the wooden door was growing mold, the guttering was filled with god knows what and the sign outside the house had broken from its post. Not forgetting the bordered up window from where Happy had had too much to drink one night and missed the door, flying through the window. Lucy had nagged at Natsu to get it fixed for weeks and finally he'd bordered it up. It wasn't perfect but he declared he was too busy to do anything about it and if anyone dared to break in, he'd show them his dragon flames.

Lucy produced a small metal key from her pocket and twisted it in the lock, taking a breath and opening the door slowly picturing the two vibrant life forms that should be inside, arguing or gulping down food for twenty people but when she opened her eyes, the room was dull and dormant just like it had been these past few months. Blinking away the approach of tears to the corner of her eyes she moved across the wooden floorboards and into Natsus room. Sliding off her shoes, she slipped under the duvet of his bed and pulled it tightly around her, closing her eyes. She inhaled deeply. She could still faintly smell smoke and the faintest hint of cat fur of its inhabitants.

This had become her routine now. Check the Guild. Come into the safety of the cottage. Fall into the deepest sleep. Return to the Guild to check once more and then go back to her own residence. She hadn't even taken on any jobs recently and her landlady was threatening to kick her out but she couldn't care less. She was numb inside. She knew that the day she goes on a job is the day they'd return. What was the point of money if it couldn't help her find her two best friends?

"Lucy!"

"Lucy!"

Lucy spun around at the ever-so-familiar shout of her name and her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked upon the salmon-haired boy running towards her. He wore that radiant smile he used whenever he talked to her, and the Suns Ray's shining behind him coated him in its heavenly glow and gave him an otherworldly appearance. A flamboyant blue cat kept pace in the air beside him with tears streaming down his own face. Oh Happy, she thought tenderly and a warmth spread through her as her heart filled with joy and love. They tackled her like two rugby players and they all fell in a pile on the ground, hugging tightly and crying tears of happiness. She could feel Natsus breath on the back of her neck and a tingling spread through her cells from head to toe.

"Oh Natsu.." She whispered. "You don't know how much I've missed you" she clenched her eyes shut to prevent more tears escaping. "..and the whole Guild of course" she added quickly.

"Luce.." Natsu pulled away and cupped her face gently, running his thumb gently across her cheekbone. A sorrowful look was visible in his eyes as he stared into her own, dark brown eyes that captivated him so much. His gaze flickered down to her pink, lipglossed lips then back up to her eyes. Her heart began to beat at an irregular pace, pounding against her ribcage demanding to be free and she was sure it was audible. Natsu leant in to connect their lips and her eyes fluttered shut on impulse, but when they met, they weren't soft, smoky lips she was meeting. They were hard and cold as ice. Creasing her forehead in confusion she opened her eyes, and saw empty eye sockets looking back at her and a skeletal toothy grin on his mouth. Lucy dropped the human skull that she was holding onto she screamed in the heart breaking, terrified voice that came with seeing the one you loved die in front of you. The scream tore up her throat even as she scrambled away as fast as she possibly could, trembling and frightened, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the ivory remains that collapsed onto the floor, shattering into fragmented pieces. A small animal skull bounced away as a strong breeze that came from nowhere whisked them away and-

With a fresh scream on her cracked lips and sweat covered skin, Lucy jumped in the bed she laid on, panting as the memories of the terrifying dream melted away and reality struck home. It wasn't real. Wasn't real. Wasn't real. Natsu and Happy were still missing and she was still in the bed in the small cottage. Shaken, alone and gasping for air.

Steadily and slowly making her way up the Guilds icy path, Lucy shivered as her mind reeled from the awful dream that had invaded her sleep and set her nail-biting to a all new speed. She tried shrugging it off, Natsu wasn't dead, she knew that. If anyone ever talked about the possibility, Lucy would intervene and set them right. She could tell, she didn't know how but she could just feel that he was out there, somewhere, surviving and existing. Call it a woman's intuition. Standing at the entrance and inhaling a breath of icy air, a sad smile splayed on her face as she remembered the first time she had stood in front of these doors with Natsu, trying to take everything in that had happened that day with the false Salalmander as well as being allowed to join FairyTail. Natsu had hurried her, saying that if she stood around too long, she'd freeze to death and never be able to join...it was so long ago now.

Shaking the light dusting of snow off herself, she pushed down the door handle and stepped in quietly. She didn't want to be caught by anybody and put on a 'I'm doing great' façade, but when she entered, she needn't have worried about people catching her for a pity speech because everyone was clustered around one of the benches looking at an object lying there. Shock and horror was evident and some had turned away, holding a hand to their faces. Macao was dragging a hand down his own face and looked down at Romeo, rubbing the back of his head. Romeo was bawling and quaking, his face was turned away from whatever was on the table and his hands gripped his fathers trouser leg in a tight fistful. Jet and Droy were holding on to Levy as well as each other, crying openly and comforting Levy who ran to Gajeel, hugging his waist tightly and coating his clothes with her tears. Even the tough Gajeel looked like his eyes were full of tears as he stroked a hand up and down Levys back with a wary expression planted on his face.

Mira, Makarov and Bisca were also sharing similar reactions of shock, heartbreak, tears, horror and anger. The rest of Fairy Tail were out searching for Natsu and Happy still, so the building was quiet, save for the sounds of sniffles and sobbing. No one had acknowledged Lucy's presence as she had entered but now Mira had caught her movements. Unfolding her arms and trying to cover her feelings, she briskly headed for Lucy who had already moved to try and peer around the group blocking her view from seeing what was on the table. Mira having reached her, spread her arms out to prevent her from moving any closer and Lucy's curiosity peaked more but so did the dread that creeped up on her.

"Mira? What's happened?! Is it Natsu?! ...MIRA!" Lucy had shouted the last part unintentionally as the white haired girl had just averted her gaze and bit her lip, shaking her head to all of the blondes questions. Heart racing faster than the Magnolia train, Lucy shoved past Miras outstretched arms, past all of the people in her way who were blocking her path to the table. Eventually, through the tangle of limbs, Lucy caught her first glimpse of what had sent a wave of terror through the bravest people she knew.

A small blue, limp paw hung off the table, it was covered in dirt and a thorn had pierced through one of its pads. The fur wasn't vibrant, nor had it been cared for, it was matted and unclean with various pieces of nature knotted in. _Happy_. Mouth gaping, all sounds and voices disappeared for Lucy as she got the full view and her hand flew to her mouth in sheer horror but it couldn't escape the whimper that came from her throat. The once glistening and pristine wings were bent at unnatural angles, caked in dirt, his fur was greasy and unkempt, his mouth that had hurled so many inappropriate comments towards her was gaping and stiff. His head was laid to one side, his ears were down and it looked like the tip of his right ear had been bitten off, his eyes were shut but if they were open, Lucy knew they'd be lifeless and glazed over. The worst part was how still he was, oh so still, not even his chest was rising up and down, nor did it bounce with the timing of his tiny heart. There were no signs of life, nothing. Her eyes gazed at his tummy and didn't tear her eyes away as she tried processing what her eyes were telling her and-

Her last vision of Happys cold, lifeless form had been too much for her. Lucy couldn't take it. It was like a breeze had struck and she collapsed to the ground, her legs too shaky and weak to support her. Her hand slapped over her mouth and the tears came freely, quietly at first but then turned into a roar of loss and pain. She could almost feel the crack that appeared in her heart. She could sense other members pitiful and sorrowful gazes focused on her but she ignored them and lost herself in her own tears and despair.

The fur from Happys chest had been burnt off, and on the top layer of skin, the letters 'END' had been carved.


	2. Broken Souls

A/N: Hi guys thank you for reading and for the awesome reviews 3 I'm not a nurse or anything so I don't know if my medical analysis is correct, any comments would be greatly appreciated! Xx ㈳3

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"HAPPYYYYYY!"

That was what she had repeated over and over again, it seemed to be the only word she had been capable of screaming since the awful spectacle. The only other sounds ricocheting off the Guilds walls had been sniffling, sobbing and whispered conversation. The grim Master had had his arms crossed over his stomach and his old, weathered face had contained his despair filled eyes which had eventually flickered to Lucy. He'd appeared more somber than he had a few seconds previously as if her presence had made it all the more heartbreaking.

"Laxus...Gajeel...please escort Lucy to a room..."

Both had nodded and moved to help her up on either side without protest. Lucy had let them haul her to her weak legs before shock had been replaced with desperation, melancholy and a simmering anger. They both had held her back with their arms around her waist, away from the dreadful sight of their lost companion lying on the rickety wooden table. She'd struggled against them, reaching out and wanting to shake Happy awake, to see his impish grin as he told her how much of a ugly crier she was, how big her chest had gotten, that one day it'd suffocate someone or even just a remark on a new fish delicacy he had discovered. _Anything_.

The other mages were grim as they'd listened to her cries and her shouts directed at the deceased feline and had felt fresh tears fill their own tear ducts. The two guys had hauled her upstairs and into a spare room where they silently muttered their condolences before they'd slipped away, and shut the door softly behind them.

Any attempts at comforting Lucy had failed just as much as trying to get her to calm down had. She just sat on the bed, hugged her knees to her chest and slowly rocked back and forth, a wild look in her eyes. They darted around the room unseeingly and incomprehensible words escaped her lips. Black mascara had mixed with her tears and slid down her cheeks leaving a dark trail. Almost all of her twenty nails were bitten down.

She'd heard the thudding of their footsteps as they'd returned to the rest of the Fairy Tail members and the murmurs of subdued conversation.

Alone, Lucy let the droplets of her tears continue to fall.

 **~Meanwhile~**

Below the stairs, all was silent. You could've heard Natsus scarf drop. If he had been there. Nobody moved, all continued to stare at the table with the victim before the creaking of the door interrupted the respectful silence. It sounded too loud for the somber setting.

Porlyusicas wrinkled face appeared along with her fading pink hair and red cloak which swished in after her. As always, she looked angry and her deep red eyes showed a lack of compassion. Her thin mouth was set in a firm line. One thing you coul count on with this lady was that she got straight to the point.

"Am I too late Makarov?"

This seemed to be a rhetorical question as she didn't wait for his answer but pushed through everyone to reach the table. The Master nodded anyways. She looked upon the unfortunate cat and pursed her lips, the only sign showing that she was either angry or upset, possibly both.

"Everyone go home this instant. I hate the smell of humans. Especially when I'm trying to focus on my work."

Everyone hesitated, glancing at each other before focusing on the master and silently waiting for his answer. They were uncertain whether to stay or to follow her harsh orders. Makarov nodded at them all slightly and with that they began to file out through the door, into the darkness with the rising level of chatter and sniffling accompanying them.

Porlyusica straightened the body, pulling out the large thorn and examined him, opening his closed eyes, bending closer to examine the grooves in his skin, squeezing bones to see if they had been smashed or broken, and brushing her hand over his wings. A basic examination. She didn't use magic unless there was a mysterious cause of death or there was the possibility of saving a life. Neither of the two were the case here. It was too late.

"The small bones in his wings have been snapped by inhuman pressure, the missing flesh of his ear was definitely bitten by what looks like human teeth, the thorn through his pad on his left paw was shoved through once, pulled out and then pushed back through numerous times to make the hole larger, the left kneecap has been shattered, the gouges in his skin have been carved with a thin, sharp rounded object, just scratching the top three millimetres of skin, and..." At this, Porlyusica opened Happys mouth and sniffed twice before straightening once again. "...by the stench of his mouth, it had been a while since he had taken in any solid food." She listed these off matter-of-factly as if she were writing a shopping list.

Having completed her purpose, she slipped her arms back into her sleeves and gazed upon the once perfectly healthy talking cat pitifully and shook her head before focusing her attention on the Master as if waiting for an explanation.

"What is happening Makarov?"

The Fairy Tail master contemplated the question gravely and stroked his moustache. It was a tough question and he had been blaming himself since the tragedy occurred. Feeling it's weight, he pulled up a chair and sat down heavily.

"Approximately three months ago, two of our mages, Natsu and Happy took a job like they always do. Nothing was out of the ordinary, they were perfectly well and...alive...It should've been a five minute job but after the second month of their absence, I sent Lucy and Erza to find out what was taking them so long and if they needed assistance but neither of them were to be seen. Discussing the matter with the employer, they were informed that they'd left after only being there a few days. We tried tracking them, looking at cameras, asking around town if anyone had seen them but the results were null. They'd gotten on the train but never got off. Then tonight happened. A solid thump on the door announced someone's arrival but once the door was opened, the only thing to be seen was..." He waved his hand towards the table before returning to worriedly rubbing his forehead.

"Mysterious. The fire dragonslayer never goes anywhere without his companion, does he not?"

"Never, they're basically inseparable. Nor would he ever let any harm come to Happy. Only over his own dead body." Makarov winced at his own choice of words.

"So why did this happen? Why didn't his friend protect him and most important of all, _where_ is he now?"

The Master stood and headed for the Guilds bar, asking the same questions himself. He needed a drink. What was Natsu doing? What had happened in the past three months? Who or what is strong enough to keep Natsu from saving his best friend? Most important of all, _why_ did he now have a dead body on his hands?

He came up with no answers.

"I don't know but I don't like this Porlyusica, I can feel it, something dark is waking up. Everything feels tense as if the world is holding its breath, waiting for something big to kick off"


	3. Stand Up

_**Authors Nore: Hello, sorry for not posting in ages, I just haven't had time but I will try and get another chapter up this week. Thank you for your patience :3**_

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 _Rap. Rap. Rap._ Dull thuds of knuckles against wood echoed throughout the room waking the young blonde from her fitful sleep. She didn't know if that were a good thing or a bad thing. Nightmares had plagued her, unknown facts let her imagination run wild and sleeping was as bad as being awake. There was no escaping it, the mind was a powerful machine and wouldn't let her rest. _Rap. Rap. Rap._ More hammering came from the other side of the varnished oak door.

"Lu. It's been three days..."

Cana. The brunette who could be surprisingly considerate when she wanted to be. Lucy didn't want her comfort or her words. She wanted everyone to just leave her alone.

"C'mon Lu you haven't eaten anything at all. Let me in..."

That wasn't quite true. Two granola bar wrappers were stuffed under her tear-soaked pillow.

There was a pause from the other side of the door. Maybe she'd finally given up and left. Lucy exhaled slowly and adjusted her position, pulling her legs up into the fetal position and gathered the duvet over her head, just leaving a small gap so that she could breathe. Her eyes were clenched shut and her face was sticky with drying tears and a stream of snot from her nose. Her fingers massaged her temple deeply, trying to ease the ever present thundering headache and trying to get her head around the fact that Natsu was still missing even when his best friend -who never left his side- had been tortured and murdered cruelly. He'd broken their pact. The pact they'd made that said they'd always protect each other, and that they'd always be together.

She could feel the anger bubbling up inside her.

This was his fault. His fault that they'd picked the quest. His fault that they'd left her behind. His fault that they'd gone missing. _His_ fault that he'd let his best friend leave his side. _His_ fault that he hadn't protected Happy. _His_ fault that a Fairy Tail member had been killed. EVERYTHING was HIS fault...and Lucy wasn't sure that she could ever forgive him for that.

There were scratching noises outside her door, metal on metal. Maybe it was Happys ghost trying to come in and haunt her for not being there for him when he needed her most. She felt that that would be just. She heard a click and a murmur of triumph behind her door as it swung open on its hinges. The doorway revealed a satisfied Cana slipping a hair grip back onto the end of her sleeve. She took one glance at Lucys physical state and her features tightened as she made her way across the room, towards the curtains. Lucy followed her every movement, turning over and plainly showing her resignation and unhappiness at her presence.

"Go away Cana.."

Her voice was rough and strained, probably because it hasn't been used in numerous days. Cana didn't listen, didn't even show any signs that she'd heard her speak. Her hands glided along the length of the curtains until she found the crack between the two and then pulled them back, letting the bright rays from the sun shine into the room and highlight the disturbed dust particles floating around. Lucy squinted at the sudden light and threw the covers back over her head, shutting the cheery brightness out. She felt a weight settle at the end of her bed.

"...you didn't come to the ceremony"

That was more of a statement than a question and it hung in the silence that followed. Lucy felt herself tense at the straightforwardness of the comment and immediately a wave of guilt rolled through her. It was true. She hadn't even bothered to pay her respects or say her final farewells to one of her best friends...but she hadn't been able to face it.

"It was...nice...Mira sung some beautiful songs, Gray and Juvia made a large ice statue of a fish, Erza brought cake, Levy wrote an inspiring scripture on the stone..." She fell silent as if reliving the moment. "...and everyone was asking after you..."

Lucy felt another wave of guilt surf through her and she sniffled as fresh tears welled up. She didn't want to hear this. How could they celebrate the loss of a member? She didn't see the point of celebrating at a funeral, everyone's supposed to be respectful and quiet, not boisterous and happy...but perhaps that was the Fairy Tail way...celebrate the life they lived and not the misfortune that befalled them.

She heard Cana sigh in frustration, could hear the unstoppering of a bottle and the slosh of liquid inside.

"You know what Lucy, I've tried being nice, okay? It's hard. That was me being subtle and sensitive, but man, you don't need to be treated like a baby so I'm gonna say what I'm gonna say and you're gonna listen, m'kay? Great."

This was the Cana she knew, abrupt and honest. It would've made her smile if she hadn't forgotten how to.

"So, the way I see it..." _Gulp._ More ale went down the hatch. "...you've been up here for three days moping around and sleeping, feeling sorry for yourself, torturing yourself with thoughts about how you could've stopped it or how it could've happened blah blah blah. You couldn't. Meanwhile, the rest of the Guild have been working their butts off down there, making funeral arrangements and continuing to search for flame brain while trying to earn money for themselves and their family, pushing their emotions to the side so the Guild can function properly. Do you know what you're doing Luce? Making things worse. Being up here ain't doing you any good and it's making everyone worry about you, y'know? So stop your moping, and get a move on and help us look for Natsu. 'Cause you know, if we find him then we might find who's responsible and get our justice, but if we don't, well, who knows? We could end up having two dead bodies on our hands."

Lucy winced and shivered at the last part, it was true, they didn't know where Natsu was, if he was also being tortured or if he was already...She took a deep breath. No, he was still out there, alive, she could feel it in her soul. There was no explaining it. She just knew. Maybe..maybe he was out there waiting for her to come and find him. Save him. That realisation sent an electric shock through her system, making her feel more awake than she had in days. Cana was right. Lying around here all day crying wasn't going to help him. It hadn't helped poor Happy.

She felt the end of her mattress spring up again as Cana climbed off of it. She heard her heavy footsteps heading for the door and the slosh of liquid as she waved her bottle around in the air.

"Time is of the essence, my dear Watson. Don't wait until it's too late."

With that said, she felt her way out of the room and towards the other Guild members and the bar, probably to get a drink refill. Lucy slowly peeked out from under the duvet to check that she'd gone. She blinked rapidly as her eyes got used to the onslaught of light, stretched out her cramped muscles and cautiously swung her legs over the side of the bed. She felt dizzy and stayed sitting until it passed, bunching the sheets up in her hands in anger. Cana was right, she was helping no one by just trying to hide from the realities of life.

Her anger changed from being directed at Natsu to being directed at herself. If anything else happened, then she wouldn't be able to live with herself. She was going to make sure that no one ever harmed the people she loved ever again. That started by smothering her despair, putting on a brave face and finding Natsu.

Time was ticking and every second wasted might cause more pain to be inflicted.

This was her chance.

Her time.

This was her turn to save him.

 _I'm sorry Natsu._

 _I'm coming._


	4. A Cities Treasure

" Oh...hey Lucy" Mirajane greeted as she stepped off the Guild staircase. She said her name loudly enough so that everyone within earshot knew about her presence. As ever, she was cleaning the glasses and returning them to their rightful place on the shelves. She looked genuinely happy to see Lucy although to those that were close to her, they could spot the piece of sorrow locked behind her brown eyes.

"Mira." I nodded in greeting.

Loke appeared in a flash of golden light in front of her and pushed his round spectacles back up on to his nose before placing a warm hand against Lucy's forehead.

"I could be wrong but you look like you're about to go out on a hunting trip...because Natsu hasn't been home in a few months." His glass lenses shone as they always did when he made a pun about her favourite show Supernatural. She knew he was trying to lighten the mood, and usually they managed to bring a smile to her face. Not this time.

"I've decided to look for Natsu myself and nothing you say will stop me."

With determination burning in her soul, she held her head high and marched out the door. No one made an attempt to stop the blonde, instead the remaining guild mates silently cheered her on as the wooden door swung back in their faces with a rumble of impending doom.

~ 2 hours later ~

The Magnolia train crawled into the station with a hoot and a squeal of brakes. The doors slapped open and businessmen returning from a hard day of work paraded on to the platform. Lucy folded up her map of Fiore that she had purchased on the journey, and tucked it away in her skirt pocket. According to her map Mr. Riorche was the wealthy estate agent who had employed Natsu's and Happy's services. His castle sat on the west side of town, a fifteen minute walk from the station.

It said in the little information box that Mr. Riorche owned sixty-five percent of all houses in the city. Brought up from a young age on a pig farm, he had shown great academic skills in business and economics and had earned a seat on the city council when he was only twenty. A pretty powerful man who could potentially have a lot of enemies who wish to see him and his acquaintances in uncomfortable circumstances.

Children roamed the streets, chasing each other with sticky candyfloss fingers and knocking into strangers, making their shopping bags swing around wildly followed by curses. The street was a bundle of excitement and electricity. Flamboyantly decorated market stalls crowded the cobbled streets and venders voices merged into one loud cry. Glistening jewels, foreign foods, silver jewellery and homemade sweets were just a selection of the wares available for purchase.

Reflecting the sun, a small item on a nearby stand caught Lucys attention and she moved towards it.

A magnificent glittering red dragon curled it's muscled body around a small clear magic ball, his black talons gouged a grip into the orb protectively and his pointed tail appeared to be caressing it gently. It's fractured ruby eyes glowed dangerously, watching over its treasure. Saddening momentarily, she smiled. It reminded her of the late Igneel, Natsu's foster dragon father who'd lost his battle with Acnalogia. If she wasn't here on business, she might've considered buying it, but she didn't have the time.

"Four hundred jewels, just for you Miss."

"I'm really sorry I can't, I-"

"Three hundred"

"Look, I-"

"Two-fifty." Lucy would have loved to have bought it and she was about to refuse once more, directly to the lady but she never got to it. The lady was older than she expected. Her grey hair was unkept and matted together, her skin was ashen and pinched, her nose had a wart on it like a witches from a fairy tale and her teeth were yellowed or rotten.

"Two-fifty my dear." She rasped when she spoke, almost as if her throat was constantly dry. Lucy never liked to see people struggling to make a living, despite her rich upbringing and she always donated money to charity whenever she had a penny to spare. She felt guilty for looking without buying and her compassionate side won out. Fishing around in her purse, she counted out the jewels and handed them over. To her surprise the woman had already wrapped it up in bubble wrap and put it in a bag.

"Thank you so much my dear." She gave Lucy a gleaming smile that was slightly tarnished by the condition of her teeth but Lucy smiled back politely and continued moving on amongst the crowd muttering apologies as she bumped into people.

The electric buzzing of excitement of the crowd was infectious and soon Lucy found her spirits lifting. She knew she could do this, she would find Natsu and deal with whatever had ensnared him, for friendship and love is a bond stronger than the most powerful magic.

Whenever Lucy was shopping she always realised that she almost always saw the same faces numerous times throughout the day in various stores and now she became aware of two grey hooded figures floating along at a distance behind her, one considerably smaller. Of course she could be paranoid. Just because two people with their hoods down and following in the same direction as herself didn't mean that they were trouble. Maybe they wanted to keep the sun away from their faces or had some disfiguration.

Although there was no harm in undertaking an experiment.

She didn't know where the alley that she slipped down led to, but it curved around the corner out of sight so it had to end up somewhere, probably a connecting street. Crouching behind a large rubbish bin, knee bent ready to spring into action with Aries key in her hand ready to summon the gentle spirit.

Sure enough, the two figures glided into the opening of the alleyway, cautious and steady.

They remained where they were listening, and presumably watching. Probably for traps or any sign of movement. Appearing satisfied they continued onwards, hurrying down the narrow passage before the shorter one snapped out an arm in front of the taller, and paused.

Lucy held her breath, convinced it had been loud enough for them to hear and that was what had alerted their presence. Her grip on the key became slippery and her knee started to ache.

They both turned and looked towards her hiding place.

Game over.

"L-"

One of them began to speak but she didn't give them a chance to finish. She leaped out, already waving the key to summon Aries.

"Open the gate of the Ram! Aries!"

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Hai guys :3 Sorry for not posting in ages, I can only write relatively decent when I'm in a writing mood which isn't often, I'll admit ㈳7 Thank you for reading though, and I hope that you enjoyed it ;)


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